Mandarin approved as official language of Pakistan

February 20, 2018, 2:15 PM IST

Pakistan and China's national flags fly in the foreground as soldiers from both countries stand together for a group shot after holding joint military exercises in Jhelum, located in Pakistan's Punjab province November 24, 2011. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood (PAKISTAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY)

Islamabad: The Pakistani Senate on Monday approved a motion to declare Mandarin as one of the official languages of Pakistan.

The motion said the step was necessary in view of ties between Pakistan and China, AbbTakk News reported.

It said the relation between Islamabad and Beijing would deepen further and help the people connected with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor communicate easily if Mandarin was made the official language of the South Asian nation.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani tweeted: “In a short span of 70 years, Pakistan has flirted with promoting four languages that were not the mother tongue of many people in the country – English, Urdu, Arabic, and now Chinese — ignoring native languages.”

Punjabi, which is widely spoken in Punjab province of Pakistan, Pashto and many other native languages have not been declared official languages of the country.

According to Dawn News, Pakistanis are more interested in learning the Chinese language than ever as they see the tides changing and expect that knowing Mandarin would mean more job opportunities in Pakistan and China.